Frenemy: A New Addition to the Bullying Circle

Greater knowledge on the social complexities of bullying is crucial to reduce actual bullying behavior. Two main approaches have been used to study bullying: the participant role approach and the bullying circle. In this study, we explored bullying through interviewing adults who had been victims of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of interpersonal violence 2021-10, Vol.36 (19-20), p.NP11131-NP11154
Main Authors: Wójcik, Małgorzata, Flak, Wojciech
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior Patterns
Bullying
Interviews
Peer relationships
Prevention
Psychological Patterns
Victims
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Summary:Greater knowledge on the social complexities of bullying is crucial to reduce actual bullying behavior. Two main approaches have been used to study bullying: the participant role approach and the bullying circle. In this study, we explored bullying through interviewing adults who had been victims of school bullying in the past, investigating how they perceived their experiences, and how they interpreted the bullying context and their surrounding peer relations. We interviewed 20 participants (more than 18 years old), all of whom had experience of being bullied for more than 1 year. The interview data were then analyzed with a thematic analysis. We found that participants had a different definition of bullying compared with the standard definition formulated by researchers. They also confirmed the fluidity of participants’ roles and the changes in behavioral patterns toward victims, depending on the peer context. Most importantly, we revealed a new participant in the bullying circle: the frenemy, whose intervention style changes from pro-victim when alone with the victim to neutral or pro-aggressor when surrounded by members of the bullying circle. This new addition adds to our understanding of the bullying process and the relationships within the bullying circle, which may help with more effective prevention.
ISSN:0886-2605
1552-6518
DOI:10.1177/0886260519880168